Must-Dos on Cold Days in College

When the weather outside is frightful, it's hard to get motivated to leave my cozy dorm room (I live in the warmest dorm on campus, thank you very much!) and socialize with friends. Luckily, even in the snowiest, windiest weather, my friends have dragged me (sometimes literally) to some amazing, cold-friendly activities. Check out my top 10 list of the most fun chilly day activities at college.

1. Host an ugly/festive sweater party: I found quite a gem over at Goodwill, let me tell you. I paid 50 cents for a sweater covered in school children, math problems and and old-fashioned schoolhouse. It was really warm, so I wore it under my coat for the next week... until my friends made me stop wearing the heinous thing.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

2. Make "puppy chow": I love how puppy chow looks like it's bit dipped in snow. Here's the quick and easy recipe: Melt chocolate and peanut butter in the microwave for 2 minutes or until chocolate is pourable. Pour over chex mix cereal. Dump cereal into a paper grocery bag containing powdered sugar. The ingredients are all incredible, so it's hard to mess it up by eyeballing proportions!

3. Do a snowy photo shoot: My roommate, a native Oregonian, dragged me out on the first snowy day to take pictures to show her friends back home. Check out one of our cutest shots!

4. Do the classic cocoa-and-a-Christmas-movie thing: This one is pretty self explanatory, but it's guaranteed to be comforting and fun. I recommend Love Actually, The Holiday, or Sleepless in Seattle.

5. Get in the holiday mood: Blast Christmas tunes from the Pandora station, grab some eggnog, make wish lists, decorate cookies, and pretend it's Christmas already!

6. Deck your halls: Make paper snowflakes and hang them from your ceiling with fuzzy blue yarn. Get a mini tree or some lights for your room, and maybe even get a basket full of candy canes for unexpected visitors. My friends and I decorated my friend Marta's room and then hosted a holiday party afterward. People really liked our festive snowflakes. (Little did they know that we looked up a how-to article online!)

7. Celebrate Hanukkah: I'm Jewish, but not extremely religious. This year, my roommate was really curious about what Hanukkah was all about, so we celebrated in our room with a tiny menorah and some birthday candles. It was so great to celebrate my heritage and teach my roommate the Hanukkah how-to's. If you have a Jewish friend or two, get in on the fun!